Chapter 26: Pitcher’s Pride

'Did you completely give up on low pitches?'

Miyuki frowned as he watched Kondou Daiki reach first base, feeling a heavy weight in his mind.

'The tactics used by Ugumori were very simple, but it was precisely their simplicity that made them hard to counter.'

Miyuki wondered how Ugumori's lead-off batter could choose pitches so accurately. It turned out he had completely given up on low pitches. Even after falling behind with two strikes, he resolutely refused to swing at them.

In Ugumori's dugout, Nao, sitting in a wheelchair, smiled as he observed the field.

'Of course, we wouldn't swing at Furuya's low pitches. With his fastball approaching 155 km/h, simply hitting this straight pitch is extremely difficult. Not to mention, Furuya also throws breaking balls like the forkball.'

"There are too many things to consider, and the high expectations will only affect our performance. In this case, it's better to abandon any unrealistic hopes and focus solely on what we can do."

Nao's smile was warm and reassuring.

In the catcher's position, Miyuki's eyes were filled with concern.

'It's no wonder Sawamura is so wary of Ugumori High School; there's a good reason for it.'

Although Ugumori's overall strength isn't very strong, they always seem dangerous. A small mistake could spell disaster for Seidou.

'Seidou had just won the Koshien, and would be ridiculed if we were eliminated in the second round of the Fall Tournament at the hand of a nobody.'

With heightened caution, Miyuki signaled Furuya. The opponent's strategy was clear, so they needed to focus on targeting the low corners of the strike zone!

'Coach Ochiai and Chris-senpai have been training you on ball control for months. It's time to show the results!'

"STRIKE!"

"BALL!"

"BALL!"

"STRIKE!"

One Strike, followed by two Balls, then another Strike, and then two more balls.

Ugumori's second batter was Walked!

The Seidou High School players, watching from the sidelines, felt like they were on a roller coaster, completely stunned.

"Is this a joke?"

"Two consecutive Walks!"

"After two Strikes, I thought he'd get it together, but he still failed."

"Wow, what a letdown!"

"Seidou's reputation is completely tarnished!"

In the stands, Fujio Mine, a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, watched Furuya with concern.

Observers can easily make sarcastic remarks, but the feelings of those involved are much more complex.

Two consecutive Walks can affect a pitcher's state.

In the catcher's position, Miyuki looked back at the umpire with frustration.

'Today's umpire has been extremely strict with the strike zone!'

'Two of the balls could have been considered strikes or balls. Yet, the umpire called them all Balls.'

'There are two possible reasons: either the umpire's judgments are strictly by the book, or he lacks confidence in Furuya's control.'

If Sawamura were pitching, the umpire might not have made such calls, trusting in Sawamura's control.

If the umpire judged Sawamura's borderline pitches as Balls, his umpiring career might be at risk!

'And Furuya's control is notoriously inconsistent.'

Miyuki was powerless in this situation; he could only guide as best as he could.

'Don't panic! Stay calm! With your pitch speed, just focus on controlling the low balls. Even if you Walk a few batters, it's okay!'

Don't worry about the Walks; pitch with confidence!

Miyuki decisively signaled.

The more a pitcher struggles, the more resolute the catcher's signals should be!

Miyuki excelled in this regard.

After consecutive Walks, Miyuki didn't give Furuya any time to be discouraged and immediately signaled again.

Furuya nodded, made his stride, and threw the ball.

This time, he clearly found his rhythm, with three Balls and two Strikes.

After two Strikes, Furuya threw his fourth pitch.

This pitch clearly hit the strike zone.

Ugumori's third batter, gritting his teeth, swung with all his might.

Buzz!

The batter, though not widely known, had a powerful swing. Even at Seidou, not all players have this power.

If his team weren't from Tokyo or Ugumori, but rather a Famous Team, he might have become a notable player.

Yet, despite his skill, the third batter couldn't connect with Furuya's pitch.

The ball sank sharply just before reaching the batter.

'Wha…!!'

The third batter's eyes widened in surprise.

The final pitch was the legendary forkball, clocking over 150 km/h!

Seeing the pitch firsthand was truly shocking.

Such a fastball dropping suddenly was unexpected.

"STRIKE BATTER OUT!"

After two consecutive Walks, with Miyuki's help, Furuya finally regained his form and his control improved.

One Out, runners on first and second base!

"Fourth Batter, pitcher, Umemiya-kun."

Just as Furuya had recovered, it was Umemiya's turn to bat.

Ugumori's absolute core player.

"Although he isn't very famous, according to the information, he should be one a very scary player! You must avoid pitching to his best courses, understand?"

Miyuki had warned Furuya before the duel.

Furuya looked reluctant.

"Does this mean I can't confront him head-on?"

Miyuki was taken aback by this question.

Due to his long-term partnership with Sawamura, Miyuki always solved tactical issues with a single sentence. His collaboration with Sawamura was so seamless that Sawamura could immediately grasp his meaning as soon as he spoke.

However, partnering with Furuya now brought about unexpected doubts.

'Does Furuya want to go head-to-head?'

For Miyuki and Sawamura, the purpose of pitching was to neutralize their opponents. Using Walks to deliberately advance a batter felt very uncomfortable for both of them, especially Sawamura, as it was contrary to his nature.

But if the batter is already aiming for a specific pitch, why would they throw that very pitch to him?

Such foolishness was not something either of them would entertain.

Why make things harder for yourself when you can easily handle the opponent?

Sawamura, on the other hand, was smelted by reality. Major league batters could hit any pitch. If Sawamura revealed his pitching course and type, 6/10 would likely end up as home runs.

Unless he's lost his mind, there's no way he'd pitch so recklessly. Pitching like this would only lead to trouble sooner or later.

Of course, if he could develop a top-tier breaking ball and use it at the right moment, he might get away with it once or twice.

But consistently using such a strategy is like walking near water without getting wet.

This is their perspective, but many high school players across the country have a different attitude.

Some believe that the spirit of a warrior never fades and adheres to the principle of never retreating or backing down.

They rely on their 'Best Pitch' to defeat their opponents.

To Sawamura, this is incredibly foolish. Like Miyuki, he especially enjoys hitting such pitches for home runs.

Unfortunately, Furuya Satoru is one of them.

These pitchers don't realize that in the world of professional baseball or the Major Leagues, batters often teach pitchers a lesson.

Miyuki could not understand Furuya's mindset. Using a pitch the batter excels at is foolish.

Yet Furuya adheres to this belief, and Miyuki doesn't know how to communicate with him!

"We don't need to throw the pitch that the batter excels at. Doing so would only help him. Why do something that benefits the opponent? As long as we Strike Out the batter, it doesn't matter how we do it. The final result is what counts." Miyuki said.

He tried to be diplomatic.

Pitchers are such strange creatures. If he didn't choose his words carefully, he might affect Furuya's performance.

In the end, Miyuki managed to convince Furuya to follow his advice.

From previous observations, Miyuki had determined the type of pitch Ugumori High School was targeting.

They had clearly given up on lowballs and breaking balls.

'They were only aiming for high fastballs!'

Knowing the opponent's target made it easy to deal with them.

Considering the previous two walks and the current situation, Miyuki decided to use only low-angle forkballs!

Furuya's forkball is already difficult to hit, and with the opponent targeting high-angle pitches, this approach should work.

'This can work!'

Miyuki was confident and decisively signaled Furuya.

Furuya nodded and threw the pitch!

Roaar!

The ball roared as it sped through the air.

Umemiya at the plate swung his bat without hesitation.

Ping!

Furuya's forkball was hit for the first time!

"FOUL!"

The ball was hit poorly and went out of bounds.

Umemiya clenched his fists and grinned, feeling as though his arms had collided with a tank, nearly shattering.

His palms were still tingling, as if they might split open at any moment.

"What a monster!"

Umemiya's face showed a hint of a smile.

'Wow~ my adrenaline surged rapidly.' Umemiya gripped the bat tightly, and his eyes revealed an uncontrollable excitement.

He was thrilled!

From his position as a catcher, Miyuki was surprised. He didn't expect Umemiya to connect with Furuya's forkball on his first try.

This was unreasonable!

'Could it be that Umemiya was targeting the forkball from the start?'

'No, that's not possible!'

Miyuki shook his head.

At least he wouldn't have done so until being pursued.

Understanding dawned on Miyuki.

'The opponent was betting that we would throw a challenging pitch first.'

'So, the pitch Umemiya was truly aiming for must be a Straight ball!'

Realizing this, Miyuki felt confident of victory.

He quickly signaled Furuya to throw the same Forkball again.

'Same position, same Forkball, once more.'

'If the opponent wants to bet, then let him lose everything and more.'

On the mound.

-"Or more like, Don't Run Away!"-

Furuya, still recalling the previous hit by Umemiya, subconsciously didn't use the forkball.

Roaar!

The ball's speed and power remained impressive.

But it didn't sink as Miyuki had anticipated!

'Why?'

Miyuki's eyes widened!

WOOOSHPAAANG!!!!

He watched as the bat bombarded the ball precisely, sending it flying far.

The white ball soared through the air as if it might leave the field.

Miyuki, stunned, removed his mask and looked in disbelief at the ball's trajectory.

'That angle…'

'It's a home run!'

'A three-run home run!!!!'

PAKK!!

The ball landed in the outfield stands.

The score instantly changed to 3-0, with Seidou High School now trailing by three runs!

…

T/N: The match kicked off with an Explosion!!!

Thank you all for reading!

And I hope you all have a day better than Furuya! (Because oh boy, he is not going to have an easy day.)

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